Alone Now
by Dr. Jeremiah
Summary: Negi accidently reveals magic, and must forge a Pactio with the witness before he is turned into an ermine. Negima! canon, slightly AU. Shameless Fluff.


A/N Just quick bit of context. This story is set in Negima? Continuity, but making Nodoka Negi's first Pactio. So actually it is an AU continuity. Please excuse any discontinuity, as I started Negima! Yesterday, so I'm not quite up to snuff on the universe. It was inspired by the song "I think we're alone now"

Negi Springfield held his staff out, focusing on the swirling magical energy around him. One of his students, one Nodoka Miyazaki had witnessed a careless display of magical ability. Though he found it distasteful, he found it necessary to erase her memory of the incident. Much to his dismay, instead of the bright flash that the memory erasure spell should have produced, three metal pans appeared from the sky, crashing down on Nodoka, Chamo and Negi respectively. Nodoka's eyes were wide, but more in curiosity then fear. Negi stepped toward her, hand out in a calming gesture, but Nodoka still turned and ran.

Aware of the terrible trouble that he was likely to get in, Negi crossed to some steps, and sat down, head in his hands. Chamo, ever helpful sat on his shoulder, describing in graphic detail the punishment for revealing magic. Negi did not want to be turned into a small, helpless creature, so when Chamo said that he knew a way to avoid it, Negi was all ears. However, when Chamo began explaining, Negi became more and more apprehensive.

"You have to make a Pactio. If she becomes your partner, she can learn magic, and it won't be an issue. So get to macking on the babe!"

Negi turned a bright red color, and in his soft spoken way, protested what Chamo was saying, even though he knew it was true. As long as Nodoka didn't tell all of the other students, he was safe. He would talk to her tomorrow, after class. Standing, Negi began making his way back to his room, mentally rehearsing what he would say to Nodoka.

"_Nodoka, what you saw yesterday was magic, yes, but it is also a secret… no, that wouldn't work, Nodoka, magic exists, and you saw it in use, so I need to… No, that came across as strange, and slightly creepy." _ Negi finally decided to just go with his gut, and say what came naturally.

The next day came, as days are wont to do, and Negi found himself watching Nodoka, trying to decide if she told anyone else. She didn't look like she had, but Negi wasn't sure. As the hours ticked away, and final bell rapidly approached, Negi began to fret and worry. What if she had told the other girls, he could be a ferret before the day was over. Finally, the bell rang, and Negi called Nodoka over before she could depart, probably for the library. Negi crossed to her, and she looked at him warily, but with a strange twinkle in her eyes. Finally, Negi broached the subject.

"Miss Nodoka, as you might have guessed, I am a mage, a magician, a sorcerer. I have magical power that must be kept a secret."

Negi looked into her eyes, suddenly aware that she was extremely pretty. She did not speak for a moment, and then she replied.

"It's okay Teacher, I can keep a secret. I won't tell anyone."

Negi heaved a sigh of relief. He was not likely to be transformed today.

"However, Nodoka, it is not that simple, I'm afraid. If I accidently reveal magic to the world, I am permanently transformed into a small ermine, and I do not want to spend the rest of my life as a mustelide. However, there is a way to circumvent this."

Nodoka leaned in closer, obviously interested in what Negi had to say. Imperceptibly, a magic circle began to glow into existence.

"My specific type of power requires a partner, someone who handles the physical threats. I can forge a bond, a Pactio, and my partner will begin to learn alongside me."

Negi began to sweat. How would Nodoka take that statement, would she see it as weird or strange?

"Negi, how do you forge a "Pactio"?" asked Nodoka apparently having accepted this fantastic conversation as relatively mundane.

"W-well," stuttered Negi, taking Nodoka's hands, trying to think of a tactful way to explain, when the handle on the door twisted, and Yue walked inside. Negi jumped back, and dropped Nodoka's hands. The circle disappeared, and both parties involved blushed guiltily. Yue seemed to pick up on this, but she said nothing, and instead, she called to Nodoka.

"Did you forget about the Exploration Meeting? We need to be there today."

Nodoka recovered with remarkable poise, and told Yue that she had been working with Negi on homework, which had been giving her trouble, and Negi produced papers that gave that impression. Yue seemed satisfied for now, and simply grabbed Nodoka by the hand and led her away, taking any chance of a Pactio with her. Negi sat down heavily, overwhelmed at the speed that his potential Pactio had fled from him, and whether or not he would be able to make a Pactio in time.

While outwardly all smiles, Nodoka cursed inwardly. Teacher had been close to saying something romantic, and Yue had pulled her away. Nodoka knew that this was important, as well, so she resolved to speak to Negi later tonight, knowing that he tried to make a trip to the library every evening, to check up on how the Exploration Team was doing. She resolved to make an effort to speak to him alone again, to find out more about this mysterious Pactio.

Negi sat in the homeroom, contemplating how to form a Pactio with Nodoka within an arbitrary time limit hanging over his head. Finally, he hit upon an answer. The Library Exploration Club was planning an expedition into depths of the library, but Negi was fairly certain that he could get Nodoka separate from the group with judicious application of magic, and hopefully forge a Pactio. Plan settled in his head, Negi rose, and began to plan his infiltration of the Library, without arousing the suspicion of the other girls. As he arrived in the Library, he could see the girls picking through basic survival gear, ready for a trip into the Labyrinth that was the Library. One by one, they set out, splitting off in different directions. Cloaking himself in magic, Negi slipped past the large doors, and into the Librarial Labyrinth, discreetly following Nodoka, as she and Yue began to explore a winding corridor. Negi selected a corridor running parallel to their course, and when the two were intersected by a small hallway, he managed to catch her attention as she passed by, walking slightly slower than Yue, who had raced forward to examine some new wonder. With quick, dainty steps, she crossed to Negi, and they set off in the opposite direction from Yue. As they walked, Negi found himself stealing glances at his prospective Pactio Partner. The child mage could not help but notice how cute she was, and the fact that she trusted him, regardless of the fact that he had magical powers. Finally, Nodoka brought up the subject of a Pactio.

"Negi, what is a Pactio contract? How do you make one?" while curious, Negi could also tell that she sensed that it would be awkward, and was prepared to deal with it. He decided to get it over with as fast as possible.

"A Pactio is usually formed in a magic circle, which Chamo, my ermine familiar will provide. While inside the circle, a Pactio is sealed with a kiss."

Negi had expected one of many possible reactions, but the reaction he got was not one of them. Nodoka laced her fingers in front of her, and turned away, but not before Negi saw the iridescent blush that was spreading across her face. Her reaction caused the confusion he was feeling, as well as his suppressed and burgeoning feelings to rocket to the forefront of his mind. An awkward silence reigned for a few more minutes before Nodoka made her moved. Still blushing furiously, she turned to Negi, and in a very small voice said,

"I'd like that, Negi, and I think we're alone now."

Gently, nervously, Negi stopped walking, and took Nodoka by the fingertips, looking deep into her violet eyes. A green glow was surrounding them, and he could vaguely see Chamo weaving runes in the air. Slowly, almost fragilely, he leaned in, and Nodoka met him halfway in a surprisingly passionate kiss, quickly, before either could lose their nerve.

A bright swirl of red light erupted, centering on Nodoka's heart, and her three Pactio cards winked into existence. The two partners were far too busy, however, and the cards eventually winked out of existence, with an almost exasperated noise. Both partners sunk to the ground, both slightly surprised and scared by the forceful way that they were acting, slightly drunk on the heady rush of power the Pactio had provided.

"Wow," sighed Negi, still eyeing Nodoka appraisingly, when she winked at him, and grabbed him again, pulling him into her embrace, eyes shining with emotion.

"Negi, that was wonderful. I promise to be the best Pactio partner ever. I won't let you down."

Having affirmed her commitment to her partner in the contract, waited to see what Negi would do. Finally he spoke.

"Nodoka, I love you."

"I love you too Negi."

Having finished the important business, and stopped Negi from being transformed into an ermine, the two new partners got down to the important business, and pulled each other back into another kiss, neither participant planning on leaving any time soon. For awhile, the beating of their hearts was the only sound. It wouldn't dawn on them until later the trouble a student teacher relationship might cause.


End file.
